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Sunday, November 2, 2014

Opinion: Maryland Elected Officials Take Motorists For Granted

When it comes to motorist issues, Maryland is suffering from a serious case of "entitled incumbent syndrome". As motorists sit idle in traffic, there seem to be no concrete proposals for improving the situation.

In the past four years we've seen the legislature pass an 80% increase in the state gas tax, most of which will be phased in after the coming election. And other driving costs, such as vehicle registration fees, have roughly doubled as well. Yet it appears that most of this money is tagged to go towards transit projects, and maintenance of existing roads, with few if any new roads or bridges scheduled to address chronic deficiencies in our road network anywhere in the state.

State Lawmakers diverted a billion dollars from the transportation trust fund to fix budget shortfalls. Now we are told to vote for a "locked box" ballot question (which motorists SHOULD vote for, even though it is an imperfect protection, since we have no better option available to us at this time) in order to save us from similar diversions in the future. But wouldn't it be so much better if we had a legislature committed to keeping it's promises to the driving public in the first place, rather than having a new promise they might still look for some way to break in a pinch?

There is no reason to believe that the anti-motorist sentiment in the current administration or the current legislature has changed, and it seems optimistic to think that all the measures to increase costs on driving are done.

Two years ago the Maryland DOT came up with a proposal to "establish a GHG emission-based road user fee (or VMT fee) statewide by 2020 in addition to existing motor fuel taxes", which would essentially require tracking the travels of every vehicle in the state, possibly with GPS or a device similar to an EZPass, and then billing us for miles traveled. Now we are told this intrusive, Orwellian idea is off the table and a political non-starter. But if this is really a non-starter, then why did the administration send the DOT to tell the legislature that they wanted to keep the option for a VMT Tax open? In 2013 the MD Department of Transportation sent their spokesperson to speak against a bill that would have banned the state from imposing a VMT tax and argued for the administration "This is a new and somewhat of an emerging direction and option that is being pursued and looked at for transportation funding, we think we're strongly against any sort of options being limited right now. These are things that are new and are things that we need to consider as we go forward as we look for new and more sustainable sources of revenue."

There are "think tanks" across the country, who have no concern about the cost to motorists or the civil liberties implications of such a plan, which are pushing for the idea of a VMT tax, and the federal government has been promoting and funding pilot programs into VMT taxes. And if this is not really a dead issue, then which Anthony Brown should we listen to? The one who's name appeared on the DOT proposal calling for a Vehicle Mile Traveled (VMT) Tax to be imposed on top of existing gas taxes by 2020, or the one who tells voters in an election year that he won't impose this (for now)? And why would a friend to motorists put their name on such a proposal in the first place if they have no intention of putting something essentially similar in place if more politically pallet-able semantics can be devised to describe it? Indeed the DOT's 2035 plan still calls for evaluating "congestion pricing", a concept which could eventually end up producing something very much like a VMT tax but under a different name.

That same 2035 transportation plan makes clear that there are few if any new roads or bridges in the works. Motorists who have been asked to bear a huge increases in taxes, tolls, and fees can expect to see little more than a few potholes filled, and at least half of their gas taxes paying for transit project that run nowhere near most of their homes. Motorists frustrated by known chronic problems caused by bottlenecks such as the I-270 spur/American Legion Bridge in the Washington Region can rest assured there is absolutely no project in this 20 year plan designed to even attempt to solve that. It seems at times as if the state has little strategy to alleviate traffic congestion other than to try to tax drivers like you off the road -- the region's ability to sustain economic growth be damned.

70,000 False Accusations in Baltimore, Who Will Be Held Accountable?
When Maryland Lawmakers voted for speed cameras, Motorists were given lots of assurances. For example we were told contractors would not be paid based on the number of tickets. Yet in the very first contract Montgomery County began paying to this very day, And even after claims of reform, most local governments STILL pay their contractors based on ticket volume, and they don't intend to stop this lucrative and deceptive arrangement any time soon. Despite all the false promises, the bounty system is still alive and well.

We were told that cameras would be accurate. Yet recent events in Baltimore have made clear that they are not. Documents obtained from Baltimore City showed that the cameras were subject to "radar effects" that issued tickets based on false speed readings. Baltimore originally tried to cover up these problems, then tried to minimize them. Even after their vendor admitted there were accuracy problems, they still tried to keep secret an audit of their program, which when eventually leaked to the Baltimore Sun showed that 10% of citations may have been due to speed measurement errors... adding up to about 70,000 false accusations total. Instead of calls for transparency, what we got were calls for "media restraints".

The fact is even today, the word "accuracy" does not appear in Maryland's speed camera law. Despite claims of "reform", there is no requirement that the standards which cameras are supposedly tested to (when they are tested at all) are actually validated to ensure they ensure accuracy. Lawmakers had the opportunity to do something about this, either passing STRICT standards for accuracy and verifiability, or banning the cameras, yet instead they chose to pass a distraction bill which was actually written by local governments which run speed cameras for the specific purpose of leaving existing practices in place, and changed nothing about the standards to which cameras are tested.

Who will be held accountable for all this?
Motorists need to understand that this year's election is more than about getting some specific change to benefit drivers. It is more than about throwing out a few officials who have voted on some specific issue. it is about showing the legislature that motorists are a force to be reckoned with, and that our interests must be respected. These issues are part of a larger trend (though the votes on these issues are an indication of where state lawmakers stand). If drivers do not make their voices heard, it is safe to assume that motorists will continue to be taken for granted, and that we will be taxed to pay off other more vocal, more organized special interests.

About Us

The mission of the Maryland Drivers Alliance is to protect the rights of Maryland drivers. We oppose programs and fees which treat motorists as cash cows or which do not give proper consideration to the interests and rights of the driving public.

The Maryland Drivers Alliance opposes the corrupting effect which automated enforcement has on our justice system. Our activities have helped to exonerate literally thousands of motorists from erroneous or wrongfully issued speed camera tickets. The spotlight our efforts have placed on corrupt or incompetent local government photo enforcement programs has forced agencies to be more transparent and less unfair in their treatment of motorists.

We support responsible enforcement of traffic laws by human officials and the proper application of traffic engineering principals to improve safety. We believe drivers should always make safety their first priority.

This site is not for profit and is run entirely by volunteers. Unlike the speed camera companies and their local government clients, we don't want your money.